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Hollywood Bows To Sumos and Drops A Film in Japan

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN,

Published: February 5, 1992

TOKYO, Feb. 4—
The movie "Hell Camp" seemed to have everything going for it last year: an amusing script about Americans trying to master the customs of Japan, an Oscar-winning director, Milos Forman, and a Hollywood studio owned by the Sony Corporation, which would presumably clear the way for filming in Japan.

But just a few days before shooting was to begin last November, the project was abruptly canceled. An official at Sony Pictures Entertainment said the Sumo Association in Japan had found the portrayal of sumo wrestlers to be unflattering and had refused to cooperate.

Mike Medavoy, the chairman of Tristar Pictures, which along with Columbia Pictures was acquired by Sony in 1989, said "Hell Camp" could not be made "without the active participation" of the Sumo Association, a powerful and secretive group with total authority over the sport.

The canceled project is surrounded by unanswered questions. Did Sony, which promised not to interfere with the content of films when it moved into Hollywood, try to help the production, as its officers say, or quietly hinder it, as some in Hollywood speculate?

And why did a group of seasoned Hollywood professionals let the objections of a tradition-bound sports federation in Japan block the making of a potentially successful movie? Sony Interference Denied

Along with Sony officials in Tokyo and Los Angeles, Mr. Medavoy denied that Sony had itself found the screenplay distasteful and let the project die. Indeed, he said that senior Sony officials in Tokyo had intervened to try to persuade the Sumo Association to change its mind and cooperate, but that the effort had failed.

"Any suggestions that the Sony Corporation has interfered in the creative process or any other aspect of 'Hell Camp' or any other Tristar Pictures project is simply wrong," Mr. Medavoy said. "We categorically and unequivocally reject irresponsible statements that have been made to that effect."

Further, he said, any idea that Sony had made less than a full effort in behalf of the picture was "really incorrect." "I think they went 110 yards to try to get there," he added. "We did not get, at least visibly, anything other than an attempt to help."

But others close to the project said it was unclear why the Sumo Association had refused to cooperate, or what had been discussed between Sony and the association, or how hard Sony had tried to press for the movie to be made. Knowledgeable people described the cancellation process as mysterious.

The movie is described as a romantic comedy that maintains an affectionate, respectful attitude toward Japan, but that pokes some fun at Japanese traditions, including those of sumo, which are widely viewed in Japan as sacred.

The Sumo Association is often described as a world unto itself, with traditions that go back hundreds of years. The sport even has a sacred aspect, with wrestlers tossing handfuls of salt before each bout as a kind of purification rite. 'A Very Difficult Creature'

"The Sumo Association is a very difficult creature," said a Japanese businessman active in the world of sports. "Once they say no, it's almost impossible to change their minds. I've had a few unpleasant experiences with them."

According to this businessman, Sony may have had particular difficulties because it is viewed in Japan as a kind of upstart company, founded after World War II and lacking the weight of traditions associated with the big industrial and trading houses founded in the 19th century.

"I can easily believe Sony could not change their minds," said this businessman, asking not to be identified. "Sony does not have the reputation of being associated with sumo. I would wonder how hard they tried, or how they could succeed if they did. They don't even own a box at the sumo stadium."

Indeed, a spokeswoman for Sony in Tokyo confirmed that the giant electronics company, unlike many Japanese companies, did not own a sumo box.

"Hell Camp" was about two young Americans traveling to Japan and learning Japanese discipline and fighting spirit at a quasi-military camp. One falls in love with a Japanese woman and the other, described as overweight and unloved, pursues his dream of becoming a sumo wrestler.

The fate of "Hell Camp" has revived the question whether Japanese ownership of Hollywood studios is affecting the kinds of films that are made at those studios. A Revised Baseball Film

Last year, questions were raised about the content of a movie entitled "Mr. Baseball," directed by Fred Schepisi, about a boorish American joining a Japanese baseball team. The script was rewritten to make it more sympathetic to Japan after the studio, Universal Pictures, was acquired by the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company.

"Hell Camp" was to have been directed by Mr. Forman, the Academy Award-winning director of "Amadeus" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." According to Tristar, it was in preparation for nearly 15 months, fully cast and ready to be filmed before it was canceled. Studio officials said its budget was in the range of $20 million to $30 million.

In the course of the production, Sony employed Junichi Shindo, an independent Japanese movie producer, as the movie's producer in Japan and intermediary in negotiating with Japanese groups, including the Sumo Association.

Mr. Shindo said the script had been read not only by the association but also by a group known as the Yokozuna Council, which selects the grand champions of sumo, known as yokozunas. He said that several council members had objected to the content of the script, but that the basis of their objections had been unclear. Cooperation and Authenticity

"I cannot imagine what is the problem," said Mr. Shindo. "As a Japanese, I saw nothing offensive to the sumo world in the script."

Mr. Shindo said some consideration had been given to going ahead with the project in defiance of the Sumo Association, building a stadium and hiring amateurs or freelance sumo wrestlers as consultants. But he said it had been decided that the association's cooperation was needed for authenticity.

"To film sumo wrestlers, you can't just assemble a bunch of fat people," he said. "It would not be sumo at all. As a Japanese, I would not want to make that kind of movie."

Asked if the Sumo Association was being given the right to censor or veto a Hollywood movie, Mr. Shindo said: "It is very difficult to judge. But we cannot blame somebody for refusing us permission to go into his house and film there. We can't say, 'We're paying you, so we have the right to do it.' "

Mr. Medavoy said the studio had told Mr. Forman that if he wanted to change the script or try to make the movie without the cooperaton of the Sumo Association, the studio would back him and put up the money necessary. "Milos felt he couldn't do justice to the movie," Mr. Medavoy said. "He felt he couldn't do it properly and effectively and authentically. We also needed some of the wrestlers."

Along with baseball, sumo is Japan's most popular sport, and it has become extremely lucrative for the Sumo Association. Seats are routinely sold out in Tokyo, and through cooperation the nation is caught up in each two-week tournament. Clashes With Modern Norms

The Sumo Association, which oversees several stadiums around Japan and has jurisdiction over several "stables" of wrestlers, has often clashed with modern norms, and many leaders of Japan consider it unwise to defy it.

The Sony spokeswoman said that last year both Mr. Forman and Peter Guber, the president of Sony Pictures Entertainment in Hollywood, had flown to Japan to meet with Norio Ohga, the Sony president, to ask his help in winning over the Sumo Association.

Mr. Ohga, she said, did not meet with any sumo officials himself, but "tried to help through an old personal friend of his."

Meanwhile, Mr. Forman met with Tomotaka Dewanoumi, the president of the Sumo Association, and at least one member of the Yokozuna Council, also to no avail. The association declined to make Mr. Dewanoumi available for comment.

A spokeswoman for the Sumo Association, Yoshie Takayama, at first declined to confirm that any request had been made by any movie company. Later, she said that Mr. Dewanoumi had met Mr. Forman and turned down the request. She said that no specific reason was available, but that it was the association's policy generally not to help with movie productions.

"We are not in the talent business," she said, "and our job is to preserve and guarantee the success of the traditions of sumo."